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Galeazzo Marescotti of Bologna

Medal
ca. 1480 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a gilt bronze medal made by Sperandio of Mantua in Italy in about 1480. The obverse of this medal represents Galeazzo Marescotti of Bologna (1407-1503) and the reverse shows Marescotti seated with armour and a book.

Sperandio (ca. 1425 - 1504), a prolific medallist if inferior imitator of Pisanello, was born in Mantua and grew up and worked mainly in Ferrara. From 1478 to ca. 1490, however, he worked at Bologna. He got his training from his father. It is not clear when he started his medallic work, but no work could be attributed to him before 1460. It seems that Sperandio was working for Borso d'Este from the early 1460s on a continuous basis. His activities were quite varied and there is evidence that he was also working as a goldsmith and painter. During a short stay in Faenza he was appointed by the Manfredi family to work in bronze, marble, terracotta and lead, as well as for works in gold, drawings and paintings. Lodovico Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua, recommended him to his brother Gianfrancesco as a cannon founder and architect and that is how Sperandio spent his last years of working in Venice.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGaleazzo Marescotti of Bologna (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Medal, gilt bronze, bust of Galeazzo Marescotti, by Sperandio, Italian, ca. 1480
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 10.47cm
Object history
Bought from the Soulages Collection in 1865 for £3.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a gilt bronze medal made by Sperandio of Mantua in Italy in about 1480. The obverse of this medal represents Galeazzo Marescotti of Bologna (1407-1503) and the reverse shows Marescotti seated with armour and a book.

Sperandio (ca. 1425 - 1504), a prolific medallist if inferior imitator of Pisanello, was born in Mantua and grew up and worked mainly in Ferrara. From 1478 to ca. 1490, however, he worked at Bologna. He got his training from his father. It is not clear when he started his medallic work, but no work could be attributed to him before 1460. It seems that Sperandio was working for Borso d'Este from the early 1460s on a continuous basis. His activities were quite varied and there is evidence that he was also working as a goldsmith and painter. During a short stay in Faenza he was appointed by the Manfredi family to work in bronze, marble, terracotta and lead, as well as for works in gold, drawings and paintings. Lodovico Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua, recommended him to his brother Gianfrancesco as a cannon founder and architect and that is how Sperandio spent his last years of working in Venice.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1865. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 36
  • Robinson, John Charles. Catalogue of the Soulages Collection. London: Chapman & Hall, 1856, p. 137
Collection
Accession number
658-1865

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Record createdApril 29, 2008
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